Back to the overview

SDG 05: Gender Equality

Learning World SDG 05

This Learning World focuses on understanding gender inequality, its implications and its intersectionality. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 5 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Educational Material

The Learning Objectives outline the key competencies students will develop by completing this Learning World. They also highlight connections to other topics, encouraging further exploration and discussion beyond this module.


Learning Objectives

Acquiring competencies for sustainable development is part of a lifelong learning process. The boardstory and exercises provided in this learning world initiate this process and help students gain knowledge, reflect and think critically, and take meaningful action. After completing this unit, it is recommended to foster the development of the desired competencies for sustainable development e.g. by teaching further learning worlds. Thus, expanding students’ skill sets further.

With this in mind, the learning objectives of this specific learning world first and foremost aim to develop a basic understanding of the respective SDG and related connections for students aged nine to eleven. Gaining and expanding competencies for sustainable development further is desirable, but can only be achieved through continuous immersion and persistence.

Following the interaction with this Learning World, the students will be able to:

  • recognize gender as a social and cultural construct, meaning that culture, norms and values are crucial in socially constructing roles of ‘feminine’ women and ‘masculine’ men, which then may differ depending on the place and time.

  • discuss power dynamics between women and men in play that shape the cultural and social construction of gender and create gender discrimination and oppression.

  • reflect on stereotypes and explain that they are the result of collective beliefs in typical ‘female’ and ‘male’ roles and behavior and either support or limit the ability of women and men to engage within their cultural context.

  • recognize that individuals can resist socially constructed roles.

  • explain that gender inequalities and discrimination can run through all areas of life, from private to systemic and structural interactions such as in institutions and decision-making positions.

  • describe that gender inequalities manifest themselves in different forms of discrimination and violence, e.g. bullying, denying participation, amplifying a lack of education, segregation in the labor market, poverty, and financial dependence; as well as restricting sexual and reproductive health and rights.

  • discuss how the promotion of gender equality is necessary to overcome unequal treatment, strengthening the basic human rights and participation of i.e. women, girls, transgender, intergender and non-binary people.

  • identify unequal treatment and discrimination in different contexts, recognize it as unfair, and realize that it is important to resist and stand up for oneself and others who are discriminated against because of their sex and/or gender identity.

  • claim that they have the right to make decisions about their own body and emphasize the importance of setting boundaries for their health and safety.

  • acknowledge and promote reproductive rights.



Connection to other SDGs

The 17 SDGs complement each other and should not be viewed in isolation. As such synergy effects can occur, for example an improvement in one of the SDGs can in turn have a positive effect on another. At the same time, prioritizing measures for one SDG can also lead to another goal being neglected. The following overview provides examples of connections between SDGs which can be used to open up new conversations and linking points to take the topic beyond this learning world.

Learning World

SDG 01: No Poverty

This Learning World focuses on teaching about the definition and classification of poverty, its multiple causes, its forms of appearance and the implications it has on different levels such as the individual and the structural; the local and the global. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 1 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Learning World

SDG 02: Zero Hunger

This Learning World focuses on understanding that hunger and malnutrition are a problem of distribution and that rethinking and transforming global diet choices and agriculture are essential. Furthermore, the importance for our health is stated. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 2 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Learning World

SDG 03: Good Health and Well-being

This Learning World focuses on understanding diverse forms of health and well-being as well as the importance of collective action and sexual education. Further potential topics can be illnesses and health abuse. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 3 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Learning World

SDG 04: Quality Education

This Learning World focuses on realizing that quality education provides the basis for understanding our world and society (as well as the SDGs themselves) and being able to interact within different systems and contexts. Furthermore, it is about understanding that education needs to be inclusive and equitable to create a just world for everyone. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 4 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Learning World

SDG 06: Clean Water and Sanitation

This Learning World focuses on understanding the role and importance of and access to clean water and sanitation. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 6 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Learning World

SDG 08: Decent Work and Economic Growth

This Learning World focuses on understanding the role of decent work as well as the shortcomings of economic growth and possible implications for our planet and the well-being of people. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 8 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Learning World

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

This Learning World focuses on understanding what inequalities are, who is especially affected and what implications inequalities can have for vulnerable groups. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 10 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Learning World

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

This Learning World focuses on understanding the importance of sustainable, inclusive, safe and resilient cities and communities and what this could mean in concrete terms – locally and globally. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 11 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Learning World

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

This Learning World focuses on understanding the role and importance of peace, justice and strong institutions everywhere and for everyone. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 16 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Learning World

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

This Learning World focuses on understanding the role and importance of global partnerships in order to achieve the SDGs and create a just and livable world for everyone, everywhere. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of SDG 17 as well as examples of the connections between this SDG and others.

Learning World

SDG Dilemmas

This Learning World focuses on understanding the shortcomings and dilemmas of the SDGs and gives examples for different conflicts of goals. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on SDG Dilemmas as well as examples of the connections between this Learning World and other SDGs.

Learning World

SDG Wedding Cake Model

This Learning World introduces the UN Sustainable Development Goals to our target age group of nine to eleven years and describes the importance and learning objectives related to the interconnections of the SDGs using the Wedding Cake Model by Johan Rockström and Pavan Sukhdev. The Learning World provides ideas and components that you can integrate into your teaching: An interactive boardstory with complementary exercises, a glossary with the most important terms of the Learning World, additional exercises to consolidate and further reflect on the contents of the Wedding Cake Model as well as examples of the connections between this and other SDGs.
Funded by the EU
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.